Part VI - The States • Article

Article 228A Simplified: Special provisions as to disposal of questions relating to constitutional validity of State laws

Article 228A was an Emergency-era article that restricted High Courts when deciding if state laws were constitutional. It required a minimum of five judges and a two-thirds majority to declare a state law invalid. This article was omitted (repealed) in 1977 to restore normal judicial review procedures.

Official Text

Omitted by the Constitution (Forty- third Amendment) Act, 1977, s. 10 (w.e.f. 13-4-1978).

Simple Meaning

Explain Like Ten

This was an old emergency rule that forced High Courts to have large benches of five judges just to decide if a state law was valid. It created massive delays and was repealed in 1977 to allow normal benches to handle these cases.

Student Mode

Article 228A was introduced by the 42nd Amendment in 1976. It mandated that the constitutional validity of state laws could only be decided by a High Court bench of at least five judges (or all judges if the court had fewer than five), requiring a two-thirds majority to invalidate a law. It was omitted by the 43rd Amendment in 1977.

Example

Under Article 228A, if a citizen challenged a local tax law in a smaller High Court, the court was forced to assemble a large five-judge bench, causing massive delays. The deletion of this article restored the ability of standard Division Benches to hear these cases.

Key Takeaway

The repeal of Article 228A removed restrictive procedural bottlenecks, allowing High Courts to carry out judicial review of state laws efficiently.

FAQs

What restriction did Article 228A place on High Court decisions?

It required a minimum of five judges and a two-thirds majority to declare any state law unconstitutional.

Why was Article 228A repealed?

Because it created massive backlogs and procedural bottlenecks by forcing large benches to convene for routine state legislation reviews.

Which amendment deleted Article 228A?

The 43rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1977.

Quiz

What was the minimum bench size required under the repealed Article 228A to review state laws?

Answer: 5 judges

Article 228A required what majority to declare a state law invalid?

Answer: Two-thirds majority